I don't know if I posted this link, some great anniversary information. I do take some exceptions with the skateboard equipment, no self-respecting boarder used Norcon Pads, we all used the much beefier Rectors, plus that board looks old, by then the 10" wide pool models were the defacto boards. https://www-nippon-com.translate.go...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Here's a great article on the "Walkman" Name along with some information on the tiny motor. I posted the whole interview cuz these things disappear over time. https://orbray-com.translate.goog/s...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc What is the strategy for conveying Japanese craftsmanship? A conversation with Toru Kono, the man who coined the term Walkman. Orbray Future ColumnVol.8 Orbray (formerly known as Adamant Namiki Precision Jewel) started out by manufacturing jewel bearings for power meters, and has since gone on to make precision products such as jewel bearings for watches and record needles. In 1973, they succeeded in manufacturing the world's smallest coreless motor, which was used in the Walkman released by Sony in 1979. And because the motor had the word "NAMIKI" engraved on it, engineers from around the world who disassembled it to examine its insides came to know Namiki. On this occasion, we had the honor of having Toru Kono, who has worked on communication strategies for various products since joining Sony in 1968 and is also known as the person who named the Walkman, visit us to talk about the fusion of Sony's imagination and our company's technology, and how to promote manufacturing, guided by the "market education" advocated by Akio Morita, to the outside world. Profile of Toru Kono Graduated from Tama Art University's Department of Design. Joined Sony in 1968. From 1996, he served as Sony Marketing Executive Vice President and Director of the Corporate AD Center. In 2002, he became Executive Vice President of Sony PCL before leaving Sony in 2006. Since joining the company, he has worked on product communication strategy, product brand strategy, and corporate brand strategy. He has overseen everything from practical advertising strategies to CI and global brand management. He was a member of the Walkman development team and named it himself. He currently runs OFFICE KOONOO. He provides consulting on brand renovation and re-form through brand structure and business issues. It all started with a record Kono: It all started when I was in middle school and accompanied my father to Akihabara and was amazed by the sound of foreign speakers and amplifiers. I wondered if I could do something about it myself, so I took apart an old phonograph I had at home and discovered a vacuum tube. I wondered what on earth this was, so I went to a second-hand bookstore and bought a bunch of books and magazines that looked similar, read them, and started making an amplifier. I got electrocuted about three times along the way and turned white (laughs). Namiki: That must have been difficult (laughs). I guess you can't really understand how it works unless you take it apart and rebuild it, and you get more and more absorbed in trying to recreate it. Kono: That's right. I could make radios and vacuum tube amplifiers, but I couldn't make record players. Cartridges and other expensive items were all bought one by one by working part-time. Namiki: It was perhaps inevitable that it would lead to working on the Walkman. Kono: Well, rather than being "destined," I think it was just a very interesting connection. Aubrey is extremely versatile, not just in terms of the Walkman motor. Namiki: I think one of our strengths is our diversity. It all started with record cartridges. Even today, we use our manufacturing techniques of "cutting, grinding, and polishing" to create record styluses called Microrich styluses, which are processed over a period of one month to be as thin as a single hair. They are currently used as the most luxurious record styluses in the world, but they can only be made by us in the world. The technology that enabled us to make these styluses is the result of advancing our technology and ideas from jewel bearings, and various other products have been born from record styluses ever since. We now do a wide range of products, even including artificial diamonds, and there are still many things we have not yet been able to share with you all.
Kono: So the motor evolved from "converting vibrations into electrical signals." That's when it all made sense to me. Namiki: I see. Not many people understand that (laughs). We have a small showroom in our company, and when we introduce our company's history to customers, they are all very interested in the story of the Walkman. Kono: Oh, I see. Namiki: Our "coreless motor" was used in the "Walkman." It just so happened that our company name, "NAMIKI," was engraved on it. When it was released and caused a big stir around the world, engineers from all over the world took it apart to see how it worked, and that's when they discovered the motor with our company name engraved on it. Actually, something developed from there. Motorola, an American company, contacted us saying, "If you can make something like this," and we made the vibration motor because they wanted to make a means of communication that would allow silent contact in hospitals. It was used in pagers and then in cell phones. Vibration. If you trace the origins of this vibration function back to its origins, it can be traced back to the motor in the Walkman. Not many people know that vibration was made in Japan, and I think we should spread the word more about the fact that the Walkman was behind it. "Market Education" and the "Unreasonableness" that Leads to Technological Development Namiki: Speaking of communicating, I think Japanese people are not very good at promoting themselves. They may be good at making things, but when it comes to "selling," they seem to be quite modest and craftsman-like. What do you think? Kono: I don't think it's that we're bad at selling in general. Especially for Sony, we sell consumer goods directly to customers, so relationships are very important. Morita (Akio) said, "Marketing is market education." This is not about "education" from a top-down perspective, but rather conveying the value of use is, in a sense, education. Moreover, this is not "PR" but rather an accumulation of "how do we create customers?" That's why I think what we've done has been closer to market education than "advertising." That's why I feel uncomfortable when people call what I've done "promotion" (laughs). Namiki: This is the first time I've heard the term "market education." I'm very interested in it. You've been proposing to everyone that "this kind of unexperienced lifestyle will unfold." So that was something you had in mind from the very beginning, Mr. Morita. Kono: Sony did not develop the transistor, but started making personal mobile gadgets in the process of miniaturizing the transistor, which was said to be difficult to put to practical use. It was an improvement and application technology that was extremely difficult in the peripheral technologies that accompanied the miniaturization. In a sense, "making something from the vacuum tube era small" was a "victory of ideas and perspectives." That's why I don't think of Sony as a hardware manufacturer, but rather as a software manufacturer. I think that they haven't been communicating this to the outside world. Namiki: I didn't think of Sony as a software manufacturer either. They're in a different field than us, but I was reminded that it's precisely because they're different that we're able to create something better when we work together. Kono: The president of a major parts manufacturer once said, "It's thanks to Sony's Masaru Ibuka that Japanese parts manufacturers exist." In order to make the most of the miniaturized transistors, all parts had to be made smaller, and other parts such as capacitors and resistors had to be made smaller as well. "By responding to orders, we've built Japan's great electronics industry," he said. Namiki: It's easy to say, "Make it smaller," but it's something that nobody noticed or did. Kono: That's right. Japan's strength lies in its ability to respond to these challenges. Namiki: So we were able to help make it smaller. We are good at listening to our customers' requests and turning them into reality, but we always start from the point of "it's impossible." But then we think about how we can make it happen from that impossible point, devise ways to do it, find a ray of hope, and forge ahead. "The amazing thing about Japanese people is that they can do that kind of thing steadily and seriously over a long period of time." From "Pressman" to "Walkman" Namiki: The Walkman was released in 1979 and caused a frenzy, but what was the reaction in Japan and around the world at the time? Kono: In 1979, it had been 30 years since the first reel-to-reel tape recorder was born. Cassettes were a very convenient, portable medium that was increasingly used in personal devices. There was a boom in boomboxes, but at some point the boombox market reached saturation. That was when the tape recorder division felt a sense of crisis and was thinking, "Is there anything else we can do?" Before the Walkman, the division was even said to be on the edge of the wall (laughs). Namiki: So there was a time like that (laughs). Kono: So we released a portable tape recorder with a microphone, which we named "Pressman." It sold quite well, but Ibuka asked us to make something that would sound good when we went overseas by plane, so we modified the "Pressman" and added a stereo head. Ibuka thought, "This is great!" and immediately showed it to Morita, saying, "Morita, this is amazing!" Morita was inspired and said, "This is something we can make." At a time when tape hardware was declining, we released a "tape player" without a recording function. We were thinking of a name for the product at the time, but we were gathered together for promotion, and in about six months we quickly made a prototype of the modified version and presented the prototype to the market, but it was a total failure. We were told over and over that something like this that only plays back audio could never sell in a genre where it was decided that "if the tape is rotating, you can record." So, this is where market education comes in. We noticed that at the time, hundreds of millions of tapes had already been recorded all over the world, but most of them were not listened to on a daily basis. We gathered data and made a presentation saying, "This is the beginning of audio equipment that listens to what already exists, not new recordings!" We held it as a tool and said it like missionaries (laughs). And at the end, no questions asked! We just put on headphones and let them listen to it (laughs). At the time, it was a strange sight to go out with headphones on. So we thought about how to generalize such things, or "make it a trend," and we went around the Yamanote Line many times with headphones on. Namiki: It's like it's become ingrained in my mind as part of the landscape. Kono: I thought this would be a good topic to talk about today, so I brought it up. I was surprised too, but a few days ago, when I was cleaning up my house, I found an unopened "Walkman II" with the serial number "No. 1" written on it and it said "Walkman II No. 1 for preservation." Namiki: Wow, that's an amazing thing! It's a priceless item! Kono: I don't know why I have it, but I think someone gave it to me. --If that's the case, it might be Morita. Kono: I guess so. I thought I'd take this opportunity to write about it today. Namiki: First of all, by having everyone experience it, their eyes begin to light up. No matter how much you present it, no one will listen to it, but by experiencing it, it changes. I think that's the essence of it, and that's what it means to truly "communicate." "Ideas" as mutations and "trust" that creates continuity Namiki: I realized that Japanese manufacturing is built on the combination of "ideas" and "products." Kono: I think ideas are a kind of "mutation," and that's what's really important. Namiki: I really realized that "one person or one company cannot make things." We try hard to think of new things, but it's not easy. Until now, we have always received ideas from our customers and continued to make them, and I thought that this cycle is the core of Japanese manufacturing. I feel that such collaborations will be necessary in the future between places that are good at coming up with ideas and places that are good at making things. Kono: Of course, ideas are part of manufacturing too. Namiki: I see. It's sometimes sudden that you see a clue that makes it possible to overcome something that you thought was impossible. I think it's important that each of us make use of our areas of expertise. Kono: Do the researchers and developers at Aubrey have any methodologies or triggers for generating ideas? Namiki: As expected, the starting point of our ideas comes from our customers. In material development, researchers are constantly creating new materials that do not exist in the world. Recently, we created the world's largest diameter substrate using a material called artificial diamond. Apart from these examples, I think our strength lies in giving shape to our customers' ideas. — On the other hand, what do you think is necessary to continue to be a presence that customers will approach? Namiki: It's all about trust. I've only been with the company for three years, and the president for two, but I talk to customers and things like that. There are many cases where relationships have continued for 40 years. There were times when they had explosive hits, but now their business is not that big. But the trust has continued. I think that's very strong. I think the world will change dramatically from now on, but if we continue this long, thin (and sometimes thick) relationship of trust for the next 100 years, there will be a sudden mutation somewhere. I think there are times when we can say, "This is possible because we were connected." — You said, "It all starts with the impossible," and I thought that "making the impossible a reality" is what leads to a relationship of trust. Namiki: That's right. Our customers choose us because of that trust. The basis and core of this is that we want our products to be "good for society" and "good for people." This is what makes it circulate. I also think that word of mouth is a strong way to spread the word. Kono: Word of mouth has always been powerful. For B2B companies to communicate their brand Namiki: Mr. Kono is well versed in brand strategies, and this time, "Adamant Namiki Precision Jewelry Company" will change its name to "Orbray." It is unheard of for a B2B company of our size to undertake branding. We have received a tremendous response. In fact, it took us a year just to explain the plan to our employees before we could put it into action. At the start, everyone was against it. Kono: It starts with changing the awareness within the company, then we create it for the outside world. Without that order, there will be no company-wide understanding, in other words, education. If you ask, "So, what happens if we make something new?", it will become a track record from now on. A brand is something that is accumulated. It is not a brand if you give it a name, but it becomes a "brand" only if it continues. --There are many B2B manufacturing companies both in Japan and overseas. You mentioned the word "unprecedented," but do you think branding is necessary for companies like this in the first place? Kono: It's not that it's not necessary. So I can't say that it's something that absolutely has to be done. This is just the company's attitude, for example, if the business model changes and the traditional business framework is misunderstood, it's just the company's will. So, both inside and outside the company, the recipients will accept that attitude. Orbray is at that exact moment. The reason why Japanese manufacturing companies have come this far is probably because there were healthy manufacturers that commercialized their products. However, now those companies are increasingly scattered all over Japan, including China and Korea. Namiki: We also have the desire to "bring Japanese craftsmanship to the world." As Mr. Kono said, I once again realized that a company's attitude is at the root of change. The reason we are changing the name, which includes our founder's name, Namiki, is because the image I have of this company is not one of an owner-operated company with employees working under the owner, but rather one in which the company is a living organism, and each individual within it shines as they move forward on a path of light. What I had vaguely thought has become clearer as I listen to your story. Thank you. Communicate to those who know the truth Namiki: We use our motors in both the Pressman and the Walkman. You said earlier that the name Pressman didn't make sense overseas. Did you receive any reaction from overseas when you changed the name from Pressman to Walkman? Kono: I named it "Walkman", but it was originally "WALKIE". The reason I chose "Walkie" is because it has an "A" in it. I think the original logo had a foot, and I wanted to add that foot to the "A". I wanted to add a foot to give it an outdoor feel. But then I found out that Toshiba had already registered the trademark for "Walkie". I was in trouble. I really wanted to add a foot, and it was a bit hackneyed when I think about it now, but since the predecessor was "Pressman", I thought "I'll just combine it with Walkie" and came up with the mysterious Japanese-English name "Walkman". Of course, it didn't make sense overseas, so Sony in each country gave it its own name. In America it was "Soundabout", in the UK it was "Stowaway", and in Scandinavia it was "Freestyle". After it was released, Morita gave Walkmans as gifts to people in the music industry, including members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where Seiji Ozawa was the music director. Then, the discerning music industry people around the Boston Symphony Orchestra started asking, "What's that?" and the word "Walkman" started flying around, and the name spread faster than the local name. At one point, Morita said, "Let's unify the name to 'Walkman'." It was a single word. It was also Morita's sharp intuition. Namiki: I think the key point was that it reached people who understand the essence of music that is the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Kono: Exactly. At the time, the people who understood me were musicians. Namiki: Like what we now call an "influencer." Kono: It wasn't our intention, actually. It just happened that way, and we realized, "Oh, so that's the effect it has." Manufacturing to the world Namiki: I would like to promote Japanese manufacturing to the world even more in the future. I would like to have some hints on how to spread Japanese manufacturing globally. Kono: This is quite a difficult thing to do. When I look at your work, Mr. Aubrey, the business you are commercializing is a kind of "core system supporter" for products. Namiki: We certainly feel proud that we support manufacturing behind the scenes. Kono: It's important, but it doesn't get much attention. I think this is true for all parts manufacturers. The watch fair in Basel, Switzerland, brings together the world's best products, so it might be a good idea to give a presentation there, for example. If you can pass on the information that our products are used in the watches gathered there, the conversation will spread to a global level. I think it's better to leave the action from there to others. I think it's effective to strategically choose the venue, from communication equipment to the space industry. If you try to create that effect on your own, you may dig your own grave. As you said earlier that word of mouth is important, this is not the age of advertising. ——So you have a place to tell stories that everyone wants to tell, like the Walkman. I think I got a lot of different hints. Thank you very much.
